FM2012 - 2 Live Crewe (And US Too!)

[Abe Sargent]

The first of my youthees are arriving. I have my third Albanian/German arriving named Besnik Gaga, 18, with a 16 passing. The next is Rainer Betz, who plays DMC / MC. I like them both. A get a few more youth who don’t pan out. My first Greeker arrives, Kalaitzis. Let’s see why:

17 Greek, AM/M R, Fairly Professional, 14/15 speed, 16 crossing, 13 passing, 14 tackling,15 finishing, 16 first touch, 15 technique, dribbling, etc. Weakness 7 marking, 9 stamina. This guy is very strong, and I can give him play now without him embarrassing me. Paid his club 95k so that’s his value, and I’m paying him 6k. Star of the future if I develop him right. I order his stamina to be an area of focus.

Another youther arrives, Magnus Seeger-Hansen, and he looks good, 18 years old, coming I at 1.2 mill value. My other Greek player arrives. I pay his old club 750k. This is Meserdis

17, Greek, AM/M L, Driven, 6.5k/week. 12/15 speed, 16 dribb, technique, 20 determination, 13 cross, 14 pass, etc. What I want to do is to train him on cross. Again, a good player I can develop. He will immediately hit my roster and pay sub instead of Murphy.

(Who is better Kalaitzis or Maas. Maas is faster, stronger, and more stamanic. Better at crossing, worse at passing. Wore at dibbling, finishing, first touch, head, tacking. Better at long throws, marking. Better mentally at almost very stat not named flair, influence, or bravery. So Maas is better).

I paid 1.7m for both players, and I suspect they will each become major players for my team. Also, after three years ,both will be homegrown. I found a great DC with Barcelona whose contract is out, and I make an offer to him too.

[Abe Sargent]

Delle won’t be able to play for today’s Chelsea game. I begin countering, and we hold them ff until Barty is injured in the 33rd minute and has to go off – Gromstad comes in for him. Half time. I tell them they are doing well. Afterwards, Wilshere rocks a goal in the 47th minute. Maas found him for a header. We injured one fo their guys as payback I guess for Barty. 2nd sub at the 67, Lowing in for Bakenga. They score in the 73rd minute off a long shot. Final sub, Cole out for Battaglia. Game. I’ll take a 1-1 tie against Chelsea. Maas is MOM. Barty out for 2 weeks with a concussion. Iordache is in the middle, Gromstad on one side, Lescott the other. Delle will back in next game.

[Abe Sargent]

Wolves game is here, I begin countering, and Bakenga scores in the 0:23 second mark. Assist by Paramio. Lob over keeper. Iordache grabs a yellow at the 19. They score five minutes later. It was one of those off target crosses that manage to be on target for goal. Paramio with a yellow just before half. Keep it up lads! Pepe gets a red in the 49th minute. I pull Paramio for Mbemba and I drop to a 4 defense. Battaglia heads in for Maas and I pull him t a DMC spot. I break Cole and Wilshere out wide, and leave Bakenga in the front. So I have a 4-1-3-1 set u. We’ll try hold up for the tie. A Wilshere goal is called offsides in the 61st minute. They score in the 65th. They get another goal to sink in the 68th. Final sub in the 87. Lansbury for Cole. Game. We lost 1-3.


I issue a warning to Pepe, and he accepts it. My Greek singings are Cup tied for the next match against Everton. This is the replay match from earlier. We sign Jesus Briz, 18 year old DC from Barcelona. It will go through on July 1st, at the end of the season. He’s solid too – 19 jumping and 16 heading, and solid 13/14 speed. We can work on him. Maybe he’ll be my 3rd starter at DC assuming Barty and Iordache are locked in. The S Koren youth guy accepts my offer, will he make it past the card folks.

[Abe Sargent]

Starting for Paramio is Wood and for Pepe is Lansbury. I begin controlling. Delle gives away an OG in the 1st minute. Then Wood scores in the 10th, with an assist by Bakenga. He had gotten open and then fed Wood when the defenders and GK closed on him. 1-1. After some give and take, Bakenga scores in the 33rd minute. Fed by Wood. Ten minutes later, Hughes scores. Bakenga shot, the ball fell to him, but two defenders were in front, so he kicked it back to Hughes for the score. Right now, Bakenga has two assists and a goal at the half. Bakenga gets a pass from Hughes, jukes a defender, and scores at the 50th minute. 1st sub – Lowing in for Wood. Bakenga gets a hat trick in the 68th minute. Assist by Huges, and Bakenga charged, split the defenders ,and scored. My final two subs come in. Cole out for Battaglia, and Nijland in for Wilshere. They score off a cross in the 70th. We won 5-2. Bakenga is MOM. We get Swansea in the next round in our place.


Chelsea announced they are interested in Dave Lowing so I raise his price to 5m. I’d sell for around there.

[Abe Sargent]

Pepe is suspended for two matches. I start Angelos Meserdis. Barty too tired from injury, sits out this match. Wood stays in, him and Bakenga had a good chemistry last match. What can we do today away at Southampton? Wood goal called offsides at the 22nd. Maas with a yellow. Half time. I pull Maas for Nijland at the 54th. Wishere finds Bakenga, and Bakenga finds goal in the 59th minute. Next sub at the 67th – Cole out for Battaglia. Final sub at the 82, Salku in for Wood. Game, we win 1-0. Gromstad MOM, and Meserdis had a not good game. This Nijland’s 100th appearance for Crewe.

Schneir gained some frm Mbemba, Salku gained a lot from Murphy, Casanova gained nothing from Gromstad, Justin Taylor gained from Cole, and Avic benefitted from Lescott. I offer Lowing for 5 mill. Let’s see if anyone makes an offer. Chelsea have made an offer of 3.9 mil plus 40% of profit from next sale – it cannot be negotiated. I take it. Why would I do that? Let’s see. I sell him for 3.9 mill. My board, which previously said we didn’t have enough money to fund improvements, agrees to upgrade our training facilities - perfect! It costs us 2.1 mill.

[Abe Sargent]

Hughes is tired and I pull him for Lansbury. Meserdis, with no match fitness, is at 81% so I put in Lansbury there instead and Battaglia for Hughes. Barty is back, and Iordache moves out with Lescott the 3rd. I begin controlling fo the Liverpool match here at the Crewe Alexandra stadium. Iordache nets a yellow early. They have two yellows in the first ten, so I order my guys to tackle more cautiously. They give away a penalty and Wood misses. Lansbury a yellow and then Liverpool score in the 29th. Half time. A Balenga score ruled out for offsides in the 51st. First sub – Kalaitis in for Maas. Next sub – Salku in for Wood. Come on guys. Just one goal. I move to attacking in the final 10 and I sub in Nijland for Lansbury and swap with Wilshere. Game. We lose 0-1 at home vs Liverpool. I tell them I’m displeased and they appear fired up.

[Abe Sargent]

Training facilities done in October. The Work Permit for my S Korean guy, after an appeal is turned down, is accepted and I move him to my Belgium feeder. The Bolton game is up. I start Paramio and Salku. Pepe and Hughes back. Paramio feeds Wilshere early for a goal. Bolton climbs back in the 37th. Half. Pepe at 5.9 so I fire him up by talking smack. Right after half, both WIlshere and Paramio with yellows in the first 2 minutes. I move attacking at the 58. First sub, Meseridis for Pepe. Next sub – Nijland for Cole. Final sub – Kalaitzis in for Maas. Game. That was a disappointing tie. Delle is Mom.


Gromstad starts for Lescott. The first of two matches here against Swansea in a row. Bakenga is back, and I begin control. Pepe is up and had a few charges at goal, but nothing doing, and we see thehalf expire. Wilshire scores in the 47th minute. Paramio took a throw in, spun, and passes to Wilshire in the box. They injure Mas in the 56, and I choose to pull him for Kalaitizis. A Kalaitzis goal in the 59th is called offsides. Next sub in the 71 – Lansbury in for Cole. Final sub at 81 – Mbemba for Gromstad. Game. We win 1-0. Wilshere is MOM.

[Abe Sargent]

Next game, Battaglia in for Cole, Gromstad stay in for Lescott. Today is the FA Cup match vs Swansea here. I don’t change anything else from the last game, still control. Paramio sinks a goal in the 20th minute from a Maas cross. Half – I tell them not to get complacent. 1st sub – Mbemba for Gromstad, who was very tired for some reason – I didn’t see an injury, maybe I missed it. Paramios lob the keeper for a score in the 71st minute. Wilshere pass got him free. Next sub – Meserdis in for Pepe. They sneak in a score in the 74th minute. Final sub – Kalaitzis in for Maas. Rain has started. Game, we win 2-1 and are through to the next round. MOM is obviously Paramio.


I finally got an easy game – Huddersfiled Town in the 5th Round of the FA Cup. On the road.

It seems like January has been really rough on my team. Lots of ties, some losses, and when we win, save for that 5-2 drubbing of Everton, it’s been close and difficult. This January took me three and a half hours to play, it was crazy. That obviously includes some time scouting and such, but still.

[Abe Sargent]

Welcome to February – Iordache Young Player of Month, Barty 2nd.


Games:

3rd – Home s Arsenal
6th – Away vs Liverpool
13th – Away vs Fulham
20th – Away vs Huddersfield, FA Cup

USA:

I offer Brad Freidel the U23 role, since the Olympics qualifiers start soon, an he accepts.


An easy month, time wise. Thanks. Transfer deadline passes

Game for Arsenal is here – Lescott back. As is Cole. I begin controlling. We have some pressure, but no results thus far. In the 41, they injury Bakenga, and I sub in Wood. Half. Next sub in the 63, Lansbury in for Maas. Final sub at the 78 – Paramio out for Salku. Salku powers a goal at the 87th minute. Pepe with assist. I pull back to counter. They move to a 4-2-4. We win. Again, yet another one goal game. MOM is Pepe .

[Abe Sargent]

Liverpool game is here. No changes to squad. I will begin all of the away games this month counter. Pepe collects a yellow card. Bakenga is injured and has to go out in the 37th minute. I put Salku in. Half time. Wlshere injures one of their players just after half, has to go off. They get goal off a cross in the 57th minute. Maas with a yellow. Next sub – Gromstad for Lescott. Cole injures one of their players, another sub required. Cole with a yellow. Final sub – Wood for Maas. Wilshere with a goal in the 81st minute. Wood with the assist. Game – tie. Wilshere is MOM - however Bakenga is out for 2-3 months with a broken toe. What I what to do is start Salku for Bakenga and keep him with Paramio.


My game crashed and I hadn’t saved it, so I don’t get those results. I quick sim to get past the game and we lost 1-3, but no injury to Bakenga. Mbemba injured in training, out for a monthish with a twisted ankle.

[Abe Sargent]

Wilshere is too tired and rests for the Fulham match – Nijland starts for him. Again, counter is the play. We hold of a Fulham attack in the 20s. They have three yellows by the 33rd minute. Hughes buries a goal in the 42nd minute. Assist by Niljand. Half. Pepe with a yellow as the 2nd half opens. Not much until the late 50s when we are pushing forward. Lescott with a yellow ends it. I sub in Meserdis for Pepe. They injure Iordache and he has to come ut in the 69th – in goes Gromstad. Final sub – Salku for Bakenga. Cole is booked. We injure one of their defenders. They score in the 87th minute, and I move to attacking. They scored off a Corner. Tie.

Iordache tore his groin and is out for two months. Gromstad is starting, and I need another DC for a month or two as a backup.. I send out a few scouts for loanees. I don’t remember passing the loan deadline, and I’m still loaning out my players, but I can’t select a loan from anyone, not even players in the EPL. I make an offer to unsigned Tommy Smith. Smith signs. He signs as a backup just until the end of the year, and is not good enough for this level for length.

[Abe Sargent]

I start Joe Murphy today. Battaglia, Lansbury, Niljand, Salku, Wood, Kalazaitzis and Meserdis are all starting today. A Wood goal is controversially called offsides in the 16th minute. Battaglia injures in the 28th and leaves the field, but I leave him in. I tell the team I’m displeased with our chances at the half. They score in the 52nd minute. I move to control. They get another score in the 67th. Subs – Pepe, Paramio, Maas all head in. Maybe they can give us a spark. I pulled my offense and middies and GK, perhaps I shouldn’t have pulled Delle. We lose 0-2 and I have to take this one on my back.



My board agree to upgrade the youth facilities today - lingering money from the Lowing deal helps out. It costs 2.3 mill and will be done October. That means within a year we had the stadium and both facilities expanded.

Currently we have Top Training Facilities and Average Youth

18 of our youth are called up to various U19 squads

Nations represented include – South Korea, England, Wales, Turkey, Spain, Scotland, Lithuania, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Albania, and Czech Republic.

For regular teams, players such as Wilshere for England, Bakenga for Norway and Tommy Smith for New Zealand are called.

[Abe Sargent]

March Arrives – Hughes 3rd in Young Player of Month

Games –

5th – Away vs Sunderland
12th – Home vs Birmingham
23d – Away vs West Brom
26h – Home vs Stoke



My squad is ready for today’s Sunderland game. It’s time for homework and studying, and I need to go watch it, so I fast sim = we win 1-0. Bakenga has the goal. Barty in Team of Week.


Sporting in Spain have a really good American playing in the U23 team – Alfredo Lozano. Plays St and AM LC. Has a 15/16 speed, 11 finis, 15 drib, and more. He’s good enough to play now, and I am considering capping him now, so he won’t swing to Spain in a few years. He’s been in Spain 2000 days, so there’s still some time to go, and I won’t do it now He’s also Mexican though.


Our new youth injectees arrive. Is there a Powell or Loring here? Doesn’t look like we hit big this time.

[Abe Sargent]

No changes to my squad for the Birmingham match. I begin controlling – it’s been a long time since we’ve done that. Their DC gives us an OG in the 3rd minute. Bakenga gets a goal in the 31st minute – assist by Hughes. Half, I tell them to keep it up. Right after the half they hit us on the break. We pull away again in the 58th minute with a strike from Hughes, assist by Maas. Subs – Meserdis for Pepe, Salku for Paramio. Final sub – Nijland in for Cole. They power a goal in the 86th minute. They move to a 4-2-4. A hughes corner turns into a Lescott header for goal at the 88th minute. We win, Hughes is MOM. Named as Team in Week

[Abe Sargent]

I sign the good youthers for my squad. We make 975k from Dongou getting a bunch of league goals. The West Brom game is here - Mbemba is back from injury, and in the subs. I begin standard. Delle saves a nasty long shot in the 9th minute. We injure one of theirs in the 27th. Then they score, 32nd minute. They score again in the 39th. Half time. Show me something else gents! Bakenga nails the bottom right corner of the net in the 56th. He dribbled it up from half court and got through two people. They score on a long shot two minutes later. Subs – Cole for Lansbury, Pepe for Meserdis. Final sub – Mbemba for Gromstad. They score again just before the end and we lost 1-4.


Dang West Brom. That was nasty.

[Abe Sargent]

The free transfer deadline passes. Our home match against our rival Stoke is on live TV so we get some cash for it. I begin attacking. They score in the 5th minute. A bunch of carDs follow. Lescott gets one and Paramio another. Then Wilshere scores in the 38th minute and we’re level . Half. Back to control. Maas is injureD in the 56th, in comes Battaglia, who swaps with Cole. Hughes grabs a yellow. Next sub – Salku for Paramio. Final sub – Cole for Kalaitzis. Kalaiztis crosses to Salku, who knocks it in the in 90th minute. Nice pass by Battaglia to get Kala out wide. We win late!!! 2-1 MOM is Wilshere.

[Abe Sargent]

Welcome to April – Hughes won Young Player of Month


Games

3rd – Home vs Everton
9th – Away vs Blackburn
16th – Away vs Tottenham
23rd – Home vs Chelsea
27th – Home vs Man Utd
30th – Away vs Man City
May 8th – Home vs Newcastle
May 15th – Away vs West Ham


The final games of the season.

We have made a ton of money all of the last month, due to TV and attendances. Last month, +1.7mil, despite paying 2.3 mill for an upgrade to facilities. We get about 600k when a game is on TV. Joe Murphy is upset he isn’t getting more 1st team, so I remind him he’s leaving at the end of the season, and he; happy.

[Abe Sargent]

The Everton match is here. I make no changes to the squad. I begin controlling. Their GK gifts us with an OG. Hughes corner to Barty scores for us in the 24th minute. Half time, keep it up. Wilshere runs past a defender and pushes the ball in. Great individual effort. They get a cross goal in the 58th minute. Sub the first – Battaglia for Cole. They power a strike in the 61st minute. I tell my guys to tackle more aggressively, since only one yellow has been given. Sub the second – Salku for Bakenga. They injure Maas. I put in Kalaitzis They get a goal in the 79th minute. Pepe gets a yellow. We don’t gather more and score so it’s a tie – 3-3. Maas out for two weeks. Hughes in Team of Week.


For Maas, Kalaitzis is in. No other changes to my team. I begin countering. Hughes injured early, nothing major for the rest of the half, but Nijland is in for him. Half. Barty gets a header from a Pepe corner and sinks it at the 51st. Kalaitzis is given a knock and I sent in Lansbury. Finally, Battaglia goes in for Cole. We hold them off, Barty is MOM. We win 1-0. After, Hughes out for about two weeks with a strained neck. Battaglia will start while he is out.

[Abe Sargent]

Iordache is back from his injury for the Tottenham match. Barty in Team of Week. This game was pushed back because it was moved to live TV. I begin countering - this is the club that stupidly sold me Hughes for 4 million. They had made 80 mill in purchases, but if they had just started what was already on their roster… They get a goal in the 16th minute. Nothing else save cards to Paramio. I sub in Salku, Wood and Gromstad for Iordache, Kalaitzis and Paramio. In the 86th minute, grace arrives. Cole booked. Salku scores from a Wood pass. We tie them 1-1.

[Abe Sargent]

We host Chelsea. Hughes and Maas are both back. Wilshere gets a goal past Courtois. Paramio gets a goal assist. Half. Meserdis in for Pepe. Subs Maas out for Wood. Final sub – Cole for Lansbury. We win game, Delle is MOM and in Team of the Week.


Man U is here. No changes to the roster. Alons y! Pepe grabs a yellow card. Nothing major, both sides have some time with the ball half. I move to control. They score in the 52nd minute. Subs 1 and 2. Meserdis for Pepe, Battaglia for Cole. They score again in the 80th minute. Final sub is Gromstad in for Lescott. Game, we lose 0-2.

[Abe Sargent]

Man City match is here and we are away – I begin countering. Hughes gets a booking. Sergio Aguero scores in the 39th. Half time. Half #2. They score in the 55th minute. Subs – Kalaitzis in for Maas. Lansbury in for Cole. Pepe is injured, so I put in Meserdis in the 78th. We lose 0-2. Pepe out for a month, so Meserdis will start for him. Delle was MOM in this game and in Team of Week.


Welcome to May – Paramio Young Player of Month, Hughes 2nd.


We made 1.38 mill last month

Joe Murphy complained that he wasn’t getting 1st team play and went to the media, poll was taken in the newspaper and they were over 90% against putting him in, and the rest undecided.

[Abe Sargent]

The Newcastle squad has arrived for our second to last match of the season. I begin standard. Newcastle score quickly. Bakenga bounces a shot off the top of the goal post and scores in the 15th minute. Bakenga gets another goal in the 36th minute. Lescott grabs a yellow. Gromstad in for Lescott, He gets a hat trick in the 67th minute. Last subs are the Greek wingers on the right and Cole for Lansbury Barty gets a header in the 78th minute from Paramio’s IFK. Game, we win 4-1,and Bakenga is MOM, obviously. Assists by Wilsherex2, Paramio. A good way to end the last home game of the season. One more game left. Both WIlshere and Bakenga in Team of Week

[Abe Sargent]

This will go down to the wire. We are in 3rd, but just one point up from Arsenal and two up from Chelsea. Any of us could wind up from 3rd to 5th after the final bout. We are away at West Ham. Same squad as before. It all comes down to this, but no matter what, we are in a Euro of some sort. I am countering. Cole with a yellow early. I like our black kits, we wear them a lot in his league. We get a goal just before half time, Barty gets a header off a Hughes corner. I sub out Cole for Battaglia. Next sub is Lansbury for an Injures Meserdis and then Salku for Bakenga. Then they score in the last 80s, and they win. Tie, 1-1.


Players called up to summer international squads include Barty for Poland, Maas for Holland, both of my Greek wingers for Greece among others.


We finish 4th in the league. That means we qualify for Champions. Chelsea lost and if they had won, we would be 5th. We just pulled an Ipswich, for getting into Euro in our first year in the league. We made 16.97 mill for our position. We are rolling in dough know. I hope I can get us to expand the stadium again or push the youth facilities some more.

[Abe Sargent]

Stats

We scored 54 goals, 10th best. We allowed 46, 7th fewest. Bakenga had 15 goals, tied with Robin van Persie for 6th most. Hughes was tied for 5th with 11 assists. Bakenga 8th highest percentage at 56% shots on target. Wilshere was 53%. Dele had 13 shut outs, 5th. Hughes 8th in cross completion ration, 34% 3rd in key passes with 36, Wilshere is tied for 12ht with 29. Barty led with key headers 98, and he was 11th in picks with 189. Hughes was 25th in rating at 7.18 ,our highest league rating.


Wilshere – 12 goals, 6 assists
Hughes – 5 and 11, 7.18
Bakenga – 15 and 2
Paramio – 3 and 7
Maas – 2 and 7
Pepe – 1 and 7
Cole – 0 and 4
Barty 3 and 0, 7.03
Salku – 4 goals, Wood – 2


Just two players with 7 rating or higher. We win no awards.

[Abe Sargent]

June is for the USA team, with a bunch of games.

My board announce the expansion of our stadium again – another 1391 seats – it will just take 2 months and costs 2 mill. I ask for a new contract due to what I’ve done for the club, and they agree. I take a contract at 43k/week for the next three years.

USA Matches:

June 4th - - Friendly vs Cuba
10th – Home vs Honduras, WC Qual
14th – Away vs Guatemala, WC Qual
September 2nd – Away vs Curacao, WC Qual
6th – Away vs Honduras, WC Qual
October 7th – Home vs Guatemala, WC Qua
11th – Hom v Curacao, WC Qual

I arrange some friendlies post October in November. I arrange friendlies with Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

Just a few games in June then to set us up. I’m sure it goes without saying that I’m expected to qualify.

Rumors float that Liverpool is interested in making a bid for Wilshere. I bump his contract to 11mil. – he’s worth 7.5, I have a handful of players I won’t sell cheaply in this order – Paramio, Iordache, Wilshere, Barty, Hughes - They are my five key youthers. I have faith that Paramio will get better, but I’m open. I’d like to hold onto to Bakenga and Paramio, but after that, I’m willing.

[Abe Sargent]

Players leaving –

Joe Cole, Bobby Shou Wood, David Murphy, Joe Murphy, Simone Pepe, Joleon Lescott, Tommy Smith, Pieter Mbemba.

So I want a star ML to be my guy. The new DC Im bringing in will replace Lescott, but I need a backup DC beyond him. I need a new striker option, maybe a stud. I need someone in Cole’s spot. I could Battaglia or Lansbury, but why? We’ll look later.


I’m also losing Cole, Smith, Murphy, Murphy, and Lescott – all homegrown. I may need to find some more HG players. My only HG players of note are Wilshere and Hughes, so I hope a starter or two can be it, or a good backup, such as another backup GK.

Youth players are released, so I look to see if any interest me. I make an offer to a Czech guy, but no English youth attract me. Our initial budget is set at 500k/week and 32.67 mil in transfer money.

[Abe Sargent]

USA – Freddy Adu is injured with knee tendonitis and out. Spetor out for few months with torn calf musle. Gonzalez has a fractured wrist and is out of a month. I put in – Chandler is back, 24 year old DC Gale Agbossoumonde, and I pull Fabian Johnson for Torres. This is my squad for June



Joe Cole is retiring at the end of this season, as is Landon Donovan.


Who was promoted and relegated

EPL – Man U won by one point over Man City. Relegated are Fulham, Southampton and Bolton

Championship – Won by Peterborough, Blackpool and QPR promoted – Huddersfield got second in the Cup and got Euro qualification when first was already in. Relegated are Sheff Wed, Tranmere and Bournemouth

1st League – Cardiff won, MK Dons and Carlisle promoted. Plymouth Swindon, AFC Wimbledon and Walsall are down.

2nd League – Southend won Northampton Brentfrd and Luton are up. Torquay and Cheltenham down.

Conference Premier – York and Grimsby up, Kettering, Wrexham, Bury and Gateshed down.

Kalaitzis got his 1st Greek Cap. Then Mesertis got his.

[Abe Sargent]

USA vs Cuba, Friendly

Starting - As before, with Chandler back in the lineup and I swap out Hedges for Gale Agbossoumonde. I begin controlling. Acuna nails the net in the 2nd minute. Assist by Bradley. Jozy grabs a goal in the 7th. Bradley feeds Altidore for another goal in the 23rd minute. Half time. Keep it up! Castillo injured, and I pull him for Pearce. Chandler finds Acuna with a lively pass an Acuna sinks it at the 56th minute. Subs – William Conde to get his first cap for AJ Soares. Williams for Torres. More subs – Pontius in for Dempsey, Bedoya for Bradley. Last sub – Wood in for Acuna. Cuba gets a consolation goal at the 88th minute. Jozy is MOM. A good win to get us to the next two matches.


At the age of 33, Conde picked up his first cap. It’s very emotional for the guy who was never capped by Colombia. There are some younger DCs now getting to the level of start ability, such as Agbossoumonde and a few others, so he won’t be here for long, and Hedges may be about to be cut as well.

[Abe Sargent]

Liverpool have made an offer of 11 million for Wilshere. Hold up. It’s just 2.2 mill now and 8.75 mill over 30 months. I don’t want that. Offer me the money up front. I negotiate 11 mill up front and 50% of next sale,not profit from next sale. Huh. They actually accepted it. Wow, I didn’t expect that. 11 mill now and 50% of the next deal. Wilshere is a great player for me, plus he counts as homegrown. I don’t actual need the money though. If I massage my budget, I can have anywhere from 38 mill in transfer and 386,000 in budget through 7 mill in transfer and 980k in budget - I can buy pretty much any player I want. That was not the case with Dongou, where he would have been unhappy not being allowed to go to an upper league. I also have Wilshere until 2019. Can I replace him? Why even bother? Sure, I make money on it, but this is not a sure thing. He was my second highest scorer on a team that needs more goals, a player I have long term, and homegrown slot. I decide to turn down Liverpool. Luckily, I didn’t get the normal, “Give my client more money” agent afterwards.

[Abe Sargent]

USA vs Honduras

We are expected to win 2-1 odds. I keep my starters on from the last game. That includes Agbossoumonde. I begin controlling. My guys aren’t getting good shots or pressure. Half. Shea runs down and scores in the 58th minute. When we needed a goal, the guy came through. Sub – Pontius for Altidore. Next sub – Torres in for Dempsey. They foul Acuna in the box and it’s a penalty. Shea buries it. I make my final sub - Edu in for Williams. Game. Shea is MOM. This was Castillo’s 50h cap. One more USA game this month.



USA vs Guatemala

I make no changes to the squad, and I begin standard. We are in really dark red kits, it looks weird. Not normal red but like brick red. It looks like I’m playing with Morocco again. Altidore with a goal in the 17th minute. Bradley gets zarked in the 30th,and I pull him for Torres. Acuna scores off a Jozzy pass in the 33rd. Half. I sub in Conde for Soares in the 67th. They get a red in the 72nd I made my final sub then – Pearce on for Shea. That’s game, we win 2-0. MOM is Acuna. USA stuff is over for now, and we have won the first two games of the six game qualifier.


Today I go look for more USA players. Who is out there of worth and merit? There is a really strong 20 year old Mexican/USA player who’s great fr he USA but without any Mexican youth caps still wants a Mexican call up, not one with us. I put im in our pool though. I add a few others.

[Abe Sargent]

I have added the Ukranian Premier League to my active leagues, in addition o America’s MLs and Britain.

I accept an invitation for French tour in friendlies. I cancel the Quorn link. On the 19th, France released a bunch of players today, and one on my shortlist, Valentin Petit was released. I make him a backup offer. Let’s see if he comes. A bunch of other folks make him an offer too.

Staff leaving in a week

Adie Stovell, Fitness Coach – 4 star fitness
Martin Taylor GK Coach – 4 tar GK
Ian Woen, Assistant Coach – 4 star defending

Can I find better?

I make an offer to a new GK Coach, A new fitness coach, and a new coach for defending. Then I offer a new assistant manager Mark Bowen the role. I don’t know why, but Bakenga is Player of the Year by the fans. I agree with a top half finish. Jiri Koubsky, a DC in my Slavia Prague dynasty era, is now my new coach. We are 150-1 to win. Koubsky is 4.5 stars defending, my new Fitness guy is 4.5 stars and finally my GK Coach, Fabio Bravetti is a 5 star coach.

[Abe Sargent]

Valentin Petit will join us as a backup middie I can rotate in. He is 20, French, 1.7 mill, 10.5k/week, till 2019, backup, 17/15 speed, 15 stamina, 14 cross, 15 pass, 17 first touch, 13 fin, 14 drib, 12 technique, mentals aren’t as good but still lower double digits. Ambitious. Plays AMC and MC, and I begin training for MR and to get his crossing up.

[Abe Sargent]

The 30t is here. Donovan is retired. Who is available? Any big names? Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard. A few smaller names. A tempting target is 25 year old middie Sergio Canales, Spanish midfielder who can play MC What about Italian Jacopo,23 years old who can play on the left. Actually, Lampard is retiring in a few days. I make an offer to GK Luke Steele to be my backup. I Still want a younger backup GK too if I can get one. Steele will count as homegrown, I hope.


Can I do better with transfers?

Perhaps James Milner, Man City, English. He’s 30, wouldn’t cost that much to get, and he’s alright. He’s just alright. He’ll meet my HG stuff though. Yeah, that works. I make an offer for Milner. I don’t know if he’ll say yes, but that meets my needs. Not a stud, just a guy, but he’ll work.

I promote GK Nathan Williams, 17, to my senior squad for the next couple of months to b my 3rd GK and a HG and club grown player for the C League. He is the U19 English starting GK.

I decide to offer Sergio Canales a spot. I make him a 74k a week offer.

We also have a problem. Stef Nijland is not playing well at this level. It’s time to move him. I decide to offer him for just 500k, to get rid of him.

[Abe Sargent]

July 1 – Our new signee arrives.

DC/R Jesus Briz, 19, Spanish, 6.5k/week, 4.6 mill, squad rotation, 13/14 speed, 19/16 jump/head, 11 pass, 16 tack, 13 mark, 16 sta, str, bal, 18 deter, 17 teamwork, work rate, this is my 3rd DC starter. I’m very happy to have gotten him off a free transfer. Described as Wonderkid, Model Professional. This is a pickup I suspect I’ll be quite proud of.


I need another rotation style DC, because I lost both Lescott and Mbemba. I wanted Titus Bramble, but he’s retiring. Can I find some DC to mentor Briz? I was hoping Bramble would fill that role. I like an older player or two for mentoring purposes generally. I make an offer to Nigel Reo-Coker. He’s 32, English, willing for a rotation, plays MC and DMC, Great mentasl, fine physcials for his age with 15 acceleration, 13 pace and such, and weaker technicals. Just a pass of 10 for instance. He can come in, rotate, and give me some older depth.

Leicester makes an offer for Nijland, and I accept. We sign backup GK Luke Steele.

[Abe Sargent]

Man City want way too much money for Milner. He’s worth 2.9, I bid, three, they rejected, I bid 4.5 and they answered with 11! Milner is not worth that. Clearly, they want to recoup some of his value, since they paid 30 mil for him from Aston Villa back in 2010 or 2011. I can get better. But better is not English. I have to have 25 players at most on my squad. 8 have to be HG. Right now, with Steele and Williams, I have five – my two aforementioned backup GKs, Hughes, Wilshere and Lansbury. Milner was to put me at 6, and then two youthers or backups here and there such as Reo-Coker and we are at my 8. I think I can do better at the ML, let’s see. I make an offer to a 21 year old Spanish left winger I’ve had my eye on for a while. He’s on my shortlist. I offer 4.5 mill first, which is what he’s worth. My scout says he won’t join my team. Ah well. Next choice. (I’ve seen those be wrong once or twice, so I’ll finish it). I make a random offer to another Man City player for a different role than ML. This one is transfer listed and can be a good mentor to my striker youth. I make an offer for 3 mill I also offer a Ukranian 22 year old ML to come join my team with an initial offer of 1.1 mill. Their board accept my offer automatically and I make an offer to Andriy Shevchuk. We agree to a deal. Can we get him a work permit?

[Abe Sargent]

I accept 3.2 mill from Man City for my 32 year old striker offer there and 9.5 mill from Real Madrid for my shortlist ML, just in case I can get him over the Ukraine guy. I checked and I have someone who speaks Russian – Dunauskas. We move Nijland, and I agree to pay him little extra weekly to move him. I move my S Korean guy to Deinze for a year. We sign Reo-Coker. My star ML, Juan Carlos, is as suspected, not interested in a move to my club from Real Madrid. As expected.

My 32 year old wants way too much salary. I can’t give him 200k. I can give him 75k. That’s it though. Ah well, we came that close to signing Carlos Tevez. That would have been something. Great mentor, and better striker. Man City accepted a 7.75 mill offer for Milner, but he doesn’t want to sign with me. Ah well.

[Abe Sargent]

It looks like Sergio Canales is going to sign elsewhere. Can I find someone else for the middle? Okay, I believe I found my target. I looked at a few folks. 19 yer old MC/DM MR Ralf Gutzeit, Austrian. I second a scout to see if he would sign, how much, etc He’s valued at 2 mill. My guess is that Salzburg will want a lot more for him. Others I like include Argentinian Alejandro Guirado, Icelandic Gunnar Finnbogason, I like the more defensive nature of Gutzeit. I make a 7 mill offer for him.

Shevchuk agrees to come to us. Work permit pending. It is denied at first, I appeal. I get negotiated up to 8.5 mill for Gutzeit and make him an offer. Canales officially signed with Racing. He signed for more than 50% less then he would have made with us – must’ve wanted to stay local.

[Abe Sargent]

Italy defeats England in the Euro Championship on penalties


A lot of national manager slots open – Bosnia and Herz. Croatia, England, Italy, Greece, Israel, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, and Slovakia. I don’t apply to any.

Gutzeit signs with us. We paid 8.5 mill, and he makes just 8.75k/week. I signed him through 2021 . 19 years old, Wonderkid, Determined. Plays MC, DMC, MR. Stats – 16/15 speed, 15 stamina, balance, 17 agility, 17 pass, corners, free kick, 18 first touch, 16 crossing, 15 techn, mark, head, 13 drib, penalty, 12 tack, long shot. 18 brave 19 determin, 17 work rate, 15 creative, 13 concentration, teamwork, position, 12 composure, 11 decisions, 10 off the ball. Only stats under 10 – 5 long throw, influence, 8 flair, aggression. Will start in the slot vacated by Cole. I’m sure you can see why I rated him so highly


I will begin with him having a defend central midfield role, but train his off the ball. I want to make him a deep-lying midfielder. I also have my lads train him for DC, s we can slip him there in an emergency.

My team, as of right now:

GK Joris Delle, Luke Steele , Nathan Williams
DC – Bartlomiej Szewczyk , Victor Iordache, Jesus Briz, Tor Marius Gromstad
ST – Juan Manuel Borrego Paramio, Mushaga Bakenga, Erjon Salku
M - Alan Hughes, Jack Wilshere, Ralf Gutzeit, Jacques Maas, Henri Lansbury, Rodrigo Battalia, Christos Kalaitzis, Angelos Meserdis


When I add my Ukrainian MR, my midfield is set and deep. I still need it up top and down bottom.

[Abe Sargent]

We have one of our French friendlies today, against Chateauroux. I start standard. Paramio scores in the 10th minute. Wilshere gets one two minutes later. They score five minutes after that, and then Bakenga finishes the scores at the 40th At half I tell them well done. Bakenga fed a score by Wilshere in the 51st. I make my normal subs and such. Game, 4-1 victoire! Bakenga MOM


Bonjour! Maintenant, nous guerrons les “Stade de Reims” dans vos estadium. “Standard” Bakenga scores in the 16th. Wilshere gets a score in the 37th. Gromstad booked - half. Keep it up. Paramio with a score at the 45:22 in the 2nd half. Score by Bobby Shou Wood, still on my team because he hasn’t left after the contract ended and I subbed him in for a tired Paramio. He gets another at the 84th minute. We win 5-0. Wilshere is MOM

[Abe Sargent]

Okay, time to find depth. ST, and DC ar needed. I find some youth to offer and a decent backup DC but no ST wants rotation or less and a decent salary, except for scrubs. For now, I rotate Dan Martin to my senior squad.


Expansion completed – we are now 14,000 in size


I lost my DC target, Kelvin Wilson – he moves to Bristol. I look for someone else. I make an offer to DC Mike Williamson instead. Maas is injured for a week or so in international play. We play Deinze away for a friendly, and I sim it. We win 4-0, MOM was Bakenga. I keep my pitch small. One of the youth I signed, Christoffer Rasmussen, came in nice. The rest sucked Williamson joins us.


After a long wait, we have signed my new winger for a fee of 1.1 mill:

Andriy Shevchuk, 22, 19k/week, 1.1 mill. Fairly Loyal, plays ML. Physicals in order – 17, 16, 13, 6, 16, 16, 16, 8. Technicals include 16 cross, 16 pass, first touch, 18 drib, 15 tech and mentals such as 16 brave, 15 teamwork and so forth.


He is my last major acquisition for the offseason.


Budget spending 309,000. Can have anywhere from 944k and no transfer money to 32 mill and 320k budget.

I sign a Barbados Scout, guy named Jon Nurse. Now I start scouting the Caribbean with him.

[Abe Sargent]

People in last year of contract:


Mike Williamson, Nigel Reo-Coker, Luke Steele, Rodrigo Battaglia, Joris Delle, Tor Marius Gromstad

Just one player of significance. Key players – just two – Wilshere and Delle. First teams – Hughes, Maas, Barty, Paramio, Bakenga, and Shevchuk.

I extend Jiri Papgua’s deal

I try to sell few of my youth I’m not interested in developing anymore. The first I try to sell is Karl Smith, but no offers. I can’t even get 100k for him. Ah well.

[Abe Sargent]

I give high bonuses across the board for my team – cup, continential and league. I get permission to hire some extra scouts. I want to hire some to finish my scouting radius. I have someone in every region of Africa, Europe, South America, etc. I want to have someone everywhere in Asia, rather than just East Asia. My first two targets are a Romanian and Colombian scout .

I turn down loan offers for Dan Martin since he’s my 4th striker right now. I send scouts to South Asia and Central Asia. I sign a Georgian scout and a Hungarian one. I add Southeast Asia and Oceania.


Carlos Tevez heads to New England and the MLS since we could not meet his salary demands. Newcastle offered me 1.1 mill for one of my youth – Claus Bonde and I agree, he moves. I accept an offer from Man City for another of my youth for 1.3 mill.

[Abe Sargent]

We get Villarreal in the Champions League. Rough. Rumors are that many want my Greek wingers, and I look and everyone from Arsenal to Man U are on one or the other. I issue a hands off warning and hack up their value to 5 mill each. Man City offers me 3.5 mill for Kalaitzis and I counter with 4.7 and they withdraw and now the agent wants an improved deal. We come to terms and I bump him to rotation and increase his salary from 6k to 14k and expend his deal through 2019. I have the money. I think my Greeks have really strong potential, as do my coaches. Rumors are Man City is interested in Meserdis.

I register the Champions Club squad. I am unable to get Gromstad and Petit on the squad. Joris Delle made my captain and Tor Marius remains my vice. We crush Nantwich 4-0 in our final friendly. Karl Smith signs for Burley for 100k. I hear rumors of a Portugeuse team, FCP, interested in Maas. I increase Maas’s asking price a little to 7.5 from his value of 5.25. I paid 3.5 for him, so I’d want double at least. I like Maas, but I’m not wedded to him.

[Abe Sargent]

We begin the season at Birmingham. Then I have Villarrael Swansea an Villarreal at home. Starting roster for the season – Delle, Briz, Barty, Iordache, Maas, Hughes, Wilshere, Gutzeit, Shevchuk, Paramio and Bakenga. This team is much better than last’s, and younger too. I begin countering. I forgot to do tactics such as set piece changes. I need to remember to do that. They score in the 9th,, but called offsides. They get pressure again. Maas injures a Birminghamian. Yellow to Iordache. Barty gets a gaol off an IFK. Half time. Sub the first – Gromstad for Iordache. Paramio nails goal in the 65th minute. In goes Palaitzis for Maas and Salku for Bakenga. We win 2-0 on the road, Briz is MOM. Shevchuk and Gutzeit each had 6.9 on debuts

[Abe Sargent]

We sold 7249 season tickets.

FCP offer 7.5 mill for Jacques Maas. I’m not wedded to Maas. Before I make the deal, I need to know that I can pick up the slack. Maas is 24, he has the 19 crossing but now an 11 passing, we got it up from 10 last year – an odd combination. Last year for us he played I 36 games, had 2 goals, 7 assists, and a 6.76 rating. This is not one of my core youthers, like Hughes, Wilshere, Paramio, Briz, Gutzeit, etc. Let’s look for immediate-ess

Maas vs Kalaitzis

24 vs 17

Maas is faster 17/16 vs 14/15
Maas - Worse jumping in 8, better stamina by 5 Therefore, Maas is better physically
Maas – 2 better crossing, 3 worse passing, 2 worse dribbling, 5 worse finish, 3 worse head, 6 better long throws, 3 better markng, 4 worse penalties, 5 worse tackling, 2 worse technique. Kalaitzis is better technically

Maas is 6 better aggression, 2 better anticipation, 7 worse brave, 4 better composure, 7 better concentration, 5 better creative, 5 better decsions an determination, 10 worse flu, 3 better off t. b. 3 better position, 4 worse teamwork, 5 better work rate. Better mentally.


So, Maas is the better wideout. But Kalaitzis is young and can grow. Now, can I find someone at or better than Maas’s level?


I’m sure no one is available on a free who is better. But what I can do is pop Wilshere over to the MR and bring in an AMC. My preference is to keep him there though. I look over my short list, and over everyone I can find. I can’t find a single player who can step up that I can afford. Therefore, I reject FCP. I bump Maas’s value up. Maas and Briz in Team of Week.

[Abe Sargent]

Crewe Alexandra vs Villarreal, Champions League 1st Leg, Best Placed Playoffs


We are here in Spain to play today’s game. I’m starting the same squad as last game vs Birmingham. Alons-y. A draw is predicted. I hope that’ true. Crewe’s first European game in heir history is underway! We open the scoring with a pass by Maas to Parami who strikes in the 12th minute. Then Bakenga breaks free from a counter in the 16th. They catch up and force him away and to pass it back. Bakenga gets back under the ball, shoots, scores, called back for offsides. He was too. Iordache finds Bakenga in the 21st in a counter, he drives, slides the ball to Paramio and Paramio finishes with a goal. Iordache is booked. Wilshire drives and they give us some corners in the 40s. Half time. 2nd half. We need to hold on. Briz and Bakenga get cards in the early 60s. I make two subs out goes Bakenga for Salku and Iordache for Williamson. Final sub at the 83rd minute, Meserdis for Shevchuk. Paramio gets his hat trick at the 87th minute . Wilshere had driven the ball on target from the right flank, and it ricocheted off their GK and fell to Paramio for the finish. My guys are still going for goals late and even more pressure is applied. Game – we win 3-0, and Paramio is MOM. We blew them away.

[Abe Sargent]

No changes to today’s Swansea game for my team. I begin controlling. We’re putting in pressure but they are keeping the ball out of the box. They keep us out at the half. I tell them to keep going. It will come. Still nothing. First sub – Kalaitzis in for Maas. I move to attacking and Salku comes in for Bakenga. Final sub – Lansbury for Hughes. Paramio crosses to Salku in the 84th minute and Salku hits the back of the net for goal. I pull back to Standard. Wilshere finds the net in the 91st minute. Nice pass by Kalaitzis. Game. MOM is Barty. This was Barty’s 125th appearance for the club.

[Abe Sargent]

Crewe Alexandra vs Villarreal, Champions League 2st Leg, Best Placed Playoffs


This is my 300th game for Crewe. I begin standard, because I suspect they may be very aggressive, and I don’t want to open myself up. I tll tehm to guard against complacency and 8 seem motivated and focused. Maas crosses to Paramio who finishes the score at the 9th. Now our foes have to get four goals to win. They hold on for a while, but the we open up a can of pressure in the 30s and 40s. Half. 45 minutes left. Sub the first – Nigel Reo-Coker goes in for Hughes. Next sub – Dan Martin for Bakenga. They nail a long shot in the 71st minute. They collect a second yellow in the 75th minute and get a red. I ordr my lads to tackle softer and sub in Meserdis for Shevchuk. Iordache collects a knock in the 84th and stays in Game. Maas is MOM. The goal they scored is the first goal Delle has allowed, including friendlies.


We made 7.1 mill for Champions Cup play. The group is drawn today and we are in a group with…Anderlecht, OM and Inter. We get Cambridge in the League Cup.

[Abe Sargent]

USA – Acuna, Guza and Altidore are all injured and out. I add ST Billy Shuler and Darlington Nagbe. I drop Conde and Michael Stephens. I add Jonathan Spector and Freddy Adu. Actually, nevermind. The 8 month injury to Adu has hurt him. I pull him back off. I put on 22 year old Massimo Bellato, MC, MR, AM RC.

Our last game of August is here – away vs West Ham. I start with a counter since we are on the road. We have some pressure early but survive, and get to the half all scoreless today. The next half begins. At the 59, I swap in new signee Valentin Petit for Wilshere. Petit turns around and gets a card. Calm down lad! Next sub is Lansbury for Maas. Lots of pressure from them still. Last sub in the 84, WIlliamson for Iordache. Game. Delle is MOM with 7.5 rating.

[Abe Sargent]

The transfer deadline passes.

Welcome to September – Jesus Briz won Young Player of the Month

Games:

10th – home vs Everton
13th – Away vs Anderlecht, Group B
17th – Away vs Man City
20th- Away vs Cambridge, League Cup
24th – Home vs Wolves
28th - Home vs OM, Group B

USA:

2nd – Away vs Curacao
6th – Away vs Honduras